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Roman Reigns
Leati Joseph "Joe" Anoa'i (born May 25, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and retired American football player. Anoa'i is signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Roman Reigns. A member of the Anoa'i family, a renowned Samoan-American wrestling dynasty, Anoa'i initially forged a career in professional football, having played the sport since high school. Following stints with the Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars, he played for the Edmonton Eskimos. Released from the Eskimos in 2008, he retired from football. WWE signed him in 2010, and Reigns made his main roster debut in 2012 as part of the Shield together with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. While as part of the trio, Reigns was a one-time WWE Tag Team Champion with Rollins. He also equaled the record for most eliminations in a Survivor Series elimination match with four in the 2013 match and set the record for most eliminations in a Royal Rumble match with 12 at the 2014 event. Since going into singles competition in 2014, Reigns won the 2014 Superstar of the Year Slammy Award and the 2015 Royal Rumble match. Football career Anoa'i played football throughout high school, three years at Pensacola Catholic High School and one year at Escambia High School. During this time, he was named Defensive Player of the Year by the Pensacola News Journal.1 He then attended Georgia Institute of Technology, where he was a member of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team. He was a three-year starter beginning in his sophomore year and team captain, and in 2006 was named first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference as a senior.1 He made twenty-nine tackles for loss, including twelve sacks, the thirteenth best record in Georgia Tech's history.6 After going undrafted in the 2007 NFL Draft, he was signed by theMinnesota Vikings.7 Upon being released by the Vikings, he was added to the Jacksonville Jaguars roster to provide depth at defensive end. In 2008, Anoa'i was signed by the Edmonton Eskimos and accepted a spot on the team's practice roster.28 Wearing the number 99, Anoa'i played five games with the Eskimos, of which he started three.89 He played just a single season and was released on November 10, 2008. Professional wrestling career World Wrestling Entertainmment / WWE Developmental territories (2010–2012) In July 2010, Anoa'i signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and was later assigned to theirdevelopmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW).2 He debuted on September 9, 2010, using the ring name Roman Leakee, in a loss to Richie Steamboat in a singles match. Further losses to Idol Stevens and Wes Brisco ensued, before he gained his first win on September 21 over Fahd Rakman. He continued competing in FCW throughout the remainder of the year, wrestling mainly in tag team matches.10 On the January 16, 2011, episode of FCW television, Leakee was a competitor in a 30-man Grand Royal, but was eliminated.11 Later in 2011, Leakee formed an alliance with Donny Marlow and the pair unsuccessfully challenged Calvin Raines and Big E Langston for the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship on July 8.12 In 2012, Leakee became a main eventer in singles competition, and he pinned Florida Heavyweight Champion Leo Kruger during a tag team match on the January 8 episode of FCW television.13 On the February 5 episode of FCW television, he defeated Dean Ambroseand Seth Rollins in a triple threat match to become the number one contender to the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship.14 He failed to win the championship when he lost to champion Kruger the following week.15 Leakee later won the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship with Mike Dalton, before dropping it to CJ Parker and Jason Jordan. When WWE rebranded FCW as NXT Wrestling,16 Anoa'i, with the new ring name of Roman Reigns, made his WWE NXT debut on the October 31, 2012, episode, defeating CJ Parker.17 The Shield (2012–2014) Main article: The Shield (professional wrestling) Reigns made his main roster television debut on November 18, 2012, at the Survivor Series pay-per-view alongside Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, assaulting Ryback during the triple threat main event for the WWE Championship, allowing CM Punk to retain the title.18 The trio declared themselves "The Shield" and vowed to rally against "injustice". They denied working for Punk, but routinely emerged from the crowd to attack Punk's adversaries, including Ryback and WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No (Kane and Daniel Bryan).19202122 This led to a six-man Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view, in which Reigns, Ambrose, and Rollins defeated Team Hell No and Ryback in their debut match.23 The Shield continued to aid Punk in January 2013, attacking both Ryback and The Rock.2425 On Raw on January 28, it was revealed that Punk and his manager Paul Heyman had been paying The Shield and Brad Maddox to work for them. The Shield then quietly ended their association with Punk while beginning a feud with John Cena, Ryback, and Sheamus that directed to a six-man tag match on February 17 at Elimination Chamber, which The Shield won.272829 The Shield had their first Raw match the following night, where they gained success against Ryback, Sheamus, and Chris Jericho.30 Sheamus then formed an alliance with Randy Orton and Big Show to face The Shield at WrestleMania 29, but The Shield emerged victorious in their first WrestleMania match.3132 The following night on Raw, The Shield attempted to attack The Undertaker but were stopped by Team Hell No.33 This set up a six-man tag team match on the April 22 episode of Raw, which The Shield won.34 On the May 13 episode of Raw, The Shield's undefeated streak in televised six-man tag team matches ended in a disqualification loss in an elimination match against Cena, Kane and Bryan.35 On May 19 at Extreme Rules, Reigns and Rollins defeated Team Hell No in a tag team tornado match to win the WWE Tag Team Championship.36 They made their first televised title defense on the May 27 episode of Raw, defeating Team Hell No in a rematch.37 On the June 14 episode of SmackDown, The Shield's unpinned/unsubmitted streak in televised six-man tag team matches came to an end at the hands of Team Hell No and Randy Orton, when Daniel Bryan submitted Rollins.3839 Reigns and Rollins defeated Bryan and Orton at Payback to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship.40 Further successful title defenses followed against The Usos on July 14 during the Money in the Bank pre-show and The Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil) at Night of Champions.4142 On the September 23 episode of Raw, Reigns was pinned for the first time while on the main roster courtesy of the Usos when the Shield participated in and lost an eleven-on-three handicap elimination match. In August, The Shield began working for chief operating officer Triple H and The Authority. On the October 14 episode of Raw, Reigns and Rollins lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to Cody Rhodes and Goldust in a No Disqualification match, following interference from Big Show.46 At Hell in a Cell, Reigns and Rollins failed to regain the tag team title in a triple threat match.47 Tension began to appear within The Shield, especially between Reigns and Ambrose, as Ambrose was the only member left with a championship.48 At Survivor Series, Reigns was the sole survivor for his team in the traditional five-on-five elimination tag team match after eliminating four opponents.49 After losing to Punk in a handicap match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Reigns defeated Punk in a singles match after a distraction from Ambrose on January 6, 2014, making him the only member of The Shield to have beaten Punk.50 After Punk left WWE, he recalled that he was constantly reminded to make Reigns look "really, really strong" in the match at TLC despite the Shield being scripted to lose.51 At the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, Reigns entered the Rumble match at number 15, and set the record for most eliminations in a single Rumble with 12. He eliminated both his Shield teammates, and was the runner-up in the match after being eliminated by Batista.52 The next night on Raw, The Shield competed in a six-man tag team match against Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, and John Cena, with all three members of the winning team qualifying for the Elimination Chambermatch for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The Shield lost the match via disqualification after The Wyatt Family interfered and attacked Cena, Bryan, and Sheamus. The Shield wanted revenge and a six-man tag for The Shield against The Wyatt Family at the Elimination Chamberpay-per-view was arranged, in which The Shield lost.53 Despite more tension,54 The Shield reconciled in March.55 In March, The Shield began feuding with Kane, which turned all members of The Shield into faces (fan favorite characters).56 Over the next few weeks, The Shield continued exchanging assaults with Kane, who was joined by the New Age Outlaws, leading to a match between the two teams at WrestleMania XXX, which The Shield won.57 The feud with Kane also prompted The Shield to sever ties with Triple H, who reformed Evolution to counter them. The Shield defeated Evolution at both Extreme Rules and Payback.5859 When Batista left Evolution in June, Triple H initiated "Plan B"; this involved Rollins turning on The Shield and aligning himself with Triple H. Royal Rumble winner (2014–present) Reigns and Ambrose eventually quietly went on their own ways later in June, marking the end of the Shield.61 Unlike the other ex-Shield members, Reigns retained much of the Shield's ring attire and theme music.6263 On the June 16 episode of Raw, Reigns competed in a battle royal to qualify for a spot for the Money in the Bank ladder match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Money in the Bank; he won by last eliminating Rusev.64 At Money in the Bank, Reigns failed to win the title.65 At Battleground, Reigns participated in the fatal four-way match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, which Cena won to retain the title.66 The following night on Raw, Triple H had planned on announcing Randy Orton as the number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but Reigns attacked Orton, causing Triple H to lose faith in him and replace him in the title match. This prompted a feud between Reigns and Orton which culminated with Reigns defeating Orton atSummerSlam. Reigns was supposed to compete against Seth Rollins at Night of Champions but he underwent emergency surgery on an incarcerated hernia causing Rollins to win by forfeit.7071 During his recovery period, he appeared in televised interview segments; his speech delivery was criticised as "forced" by James Caldwell of the Pro Wrestling Torch in November 2014.72 Reigns returned to television on the December 8 episode of Raw when WWE awarded him the 2014 "Superstar of the Year" Slammy Award.73 Six days later at TLC, when Big Show interfered in John Cena's match against Seth Rollins, Reigns attacked both Big Show and Rollins, leading to Cena's win.74This caused a feud between him and Big Show, which resulted in Reigns defeating Big Show multiple times, by count-out and disqualification.757677 After Reigns narrowly missed out on the 2014 "Most Overrated" Wrestling Observer Newsletter award, Dave Meltzer commented that Reigns, who "WWE has been grooming to be its future flagship star", is "probably not fully ready for the level he’s being pushed."78 On January 25, 2015, Reigns won the 2015 Royal Rumble match after entering at number 19 and eliminating six other wrestlers, including Big Show. Reigns was noted (despite typically being a fan favorite) to have been booed during his entrance, when he won the match, and even after the match when he was endorsed by The Rock, who had made a surprise return to help Reigns fend off Big Show and Kane.798081 On the following night's Raw, Reigns acknowledged being part of the Anoa'i family for the first time on WWE television.82 On the February 2 episode of Raw, Reigns lost to Big Show in the first time Reigns had lost via pinfall in a one-on-one match on the WWE main roster. Personal life Anoa'i is half-Samoan and half-Italian.84 Both his father, Sika, and his brother, Matt, are professional wrestlers. As a member of the Anoa'i family, he is a cousin to fellow professional wrestlers Yokozuna, Rikishi, Umaga, The Usos and (although not related by birth) Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.985 At the Georgia Institute of Technology, Anoa'i studied management.1 Anoa'i married Galina Joelle Becker in early December 2014.3 He has a daughter, with whom he appeared in a public service announcement in June 2014. In wrestling * Finishing moves ** As Roman Reigns *** Moment of Silence88 (NXT) / Back suplex side slam89909192 (WWE) – NXT; used as a signature move in WWE *** Spear939495 ** As Leakee *** Checkmate (Spinning bulldog)969798 * Signature moves ** Leaping clothesline93 ** Running front dropkick from the floor to the head of an opponent draped over the bottom rope919394 ** Samoan drop93 ** Superman Punch, with theatrics919399 ** Tilt-a-whirl slam * Nicknames ** "The Juggernaut"100 * Entrance themes ** "Special Op" by Jim Johnston101 (Used while a part of the Shield) ** "The Truth Reigns" by Jim Johnston102 (June 16, 2014–present) Championships and accomplishments Reigns as one-half of theWWE Tag Team Championsin 2013 * Florida Championship Wrestling ** FCW Florida Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Mike Dalton * Pro Wrestling Illustrated ** Tag Team of the Year (2013)103 – with Seth Rollins ** PWI ranked him No. 7''' of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2014104 * '''WWE ** WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Seth Rollins105 ** Royal Rumble (2015)106 ** Slammy Award for Breakout Star of the Year (2013) – with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins as The Shield ** Slammy Award for Faction of the Year (2013, 2014) – with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins as The Shield107 ** Slammy Award for Trending Now (Hashtag) of the Year (2013) – #BelieveInTheShield – with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins as The Shield ** Slammy Award for "What a Maneuver" of the Year (2013) – Spear ** Slammy Award for Superstar of the Year (2014)73 * Wrestling Observer Newsletter ** Most Improved (2013)108 ** Tag Team of the Year (2013) – with Seth Rollins[